Freelander

[Gazbo]

Just put a gearbox in a freelander, but this annoying whine still remains. I thought it was a wheel bearing when hung over the other day, but two garages say it is a diff prob? The sound now seems to be coming from under the gear stick. I am going to take the prop off to the back diff then try it again to see if the rear drive taken off makes it go. Any ideas would be great.

p.s. Sorry i aint been on in a while but surf is now trouble free since buying it thanks to this great site, well worth a tenna

[drunkmonkeyboy]

Just put a gearbox in a freelander, but this annoying whine still remains. I thought it was a wheel bearing when hung over the other day, but two garages say it is a diff prob? The sound now seems to be coming from under the gear stick. I am going to take the prop off to the back diff then try it again to see if the rear drive taken off makes it go. Any ideas would be great.

get rid and get another surf!!!

[max6674]

Have you tried here: http://www.lro.com/forums/category.ehtml?c=freelander

[TonyN]

Freelanders are $hite, they run the front wheels higher ratio slighty higher than the rear wheels, so it handles like a FWD car, there is a viscous coupling in the rear shaft, to allow for the difference in ratios. Unfortunatly, this normally siezes up after a few years, so you'll find it will eat rear tyres and the rear diff, and if your unlucky the transfer case as well.

Drive it round in circles on full lock in a carpark, if you feel the wheels dragging/skipping its fawked!

Incedently, if your wondering how LR over comes this problem, they now supply a stronger rear diff! So it doesn't really get rid of the problem, just make the bits last a bit longer.

Good luck.

[jackster]

Freelanders are $hite, they run the front wheels higher ratio slighty higher than the rear wheels, so it handles like a FWD car, there is a viscous coupling in the rear shaft, to allow for the difference in ratios. Unfortunatly, this normally siezes up after a few years, so you'll find it will eat rear tyres and the rear diff, and if your unlucky the transfer case as well.

This is exactly what happened to a mate a mine just two weeks ago,There`s olso two bearrings on the shaft which quite often refuse to come off, so he said.He`d only had the motor 4 months, lucky for him he got it done on warranty, including two rear tyres which it had totally ferked

[internetsurfer]

id be interested in the outcome here - my brother has a freelander that whines like a menstuating wife. 96 k on the clock . i was gonna change all the diff and gear oils for him and grease all the shafts nipples . But by the sounds of it the damage is already done .

i also agree with tony as a 4x4 the are just a toy and are $$hhhyytttteeeee

[Dog_Book]

Freelanders are $hite, they run the front wheels higher ratio slighty higher than the rear wheels, so it handles like a FWD car, there is a viscous coupling in the rear shaft, to allow for the difference in ratios. Unfortunatly, this normally siezes up after a few years, so you'll find it will eat rear tyres and the rear diff, and if your unlucky the transfer case as well.

Drive it round in circles on full lock in a carpark, if you feel the wheels dragging/skipping its fawked!

Incedently, if your wondering how LR over comes this problem, they now supply a stronger rear diff! So it doesn't really get rid of the problem, just make the bits last a bit longer.

Good luck.

That is really bad design!!! why have some stupid vicous thing thats oviusly going to break cos its allways under strain everythime the thing moves. Tards !!!

[laser_jock@work]

Lets compare the Surf and Freelander as listed on Honest John's motoring website:

Freelander

Based on much modified old Rover 200 floorpan. Nissan's X-Trail 2.2DI Sport 6-speed is better in every respect. TD4s initially hard to get hold of due to supply problems with BMW engines. Initial promise of high quality build not met. Lots of niggly failures. Main failure on 1.8s is the engine through head gasket failure. By 1994 second failures of previously repaired 1.8s on 1997 - 2000 Freelanders due to bore liners dropping and a shortage of used replacement engines was putting a lot of them off the road (website link www.shame.4mg.com ). Also failures of hill descent control, driveshafts and gearboxes, transfer cases and blocked ventilation slots (Sunday Times 6/3/99). Original Rover engined DI model failed miserably in police use. More ponderous than Honda CRV, Toyota RAV-4 and X-Trail and more expensive than CRV. Not as economical as expected, but Rover diesel can average 35 mpg at a 70 mph cruise. Became increasingly expensive with Freelander 50th 5-door diesel listed at £24,995. Several recalls. Many owners taking a hit, getting out and getting into fault-free Honda CRVs, RAV-4s and X-Trails. Low profile tyres fitted to 'Millennium' model Freelanders are't up to suburban kerb mounting, which is the main off road activity of these vehicles. S and T platers 16th from bottom in 2001 Top Gear / J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. In June 2001 Land Rover was rated by Motor Warranty Direct as Britain's 2nd worst out of 22 marques for warranty claims ( www.warrantydirect.co.uk )1.8 K Series head gasket failures website link www.shame.4mg.com By July 2003 several reports of head gasket failure of the KV6. One report of failure of rear axle at 47k miles; another at 76k miles: apparently by no means unique. Several reports of Steptronic gearbox problems on the KV6. No brake pad wear warning system, so pads must be physically inspected. Loss of power of TS4 may be due to failure of mass airflow sensor which costs £250 to replace.

2nd bottom of 100 models for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. 7th from Bottom in 144 car 2002 JD Power / What Car? Customer Satisfaction Survey of V and W reg cars. LandRover had joint highest average cost in warranty claims for cars up to 10 years old in 2002 Warranty Direct index. Joint third bottom in 2002 Which reliability survey of cars up to 2 years old; 106 cars surveyed. Land Rover 3rd least reliable of 31 makes of car in 2002 'Which?' reliability survey cars 2000 - 2002; least reliable of 32 makes built 1997 - 1999. Only three stars in 2003 NCAP crash test ratings. Land Rovers had third highest warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 167.53 v/s lowest 31.93). 1998-2002 petrol rated poor for breakdowns and problems, average for faults; 1998-2000 diesel rated average for breakdowns and faults, poor for problems; 2001-2003 petrol rated average for breakdowns and problems, poor for faults in 2003 Which survey. 8th from bottom out of 137 models in 2003 Top Gear survey. Freelander 9th bottom model in 2004 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Only 89% of cars up to 2 years old breakdown-free over previous 12 months in 2004 Which? survey, yet gasket problem was supposed to have been fixed from 2001 production. Land Rover 4th bottom of Reliability Index for 2004 combining average cost of repair of £367.03 with highest 46.23 failures per 100 Warranty Direct policies. Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk Freelander 5th least reliable car in 2005 Warranty Direct Reliability Survey with 55 repair claims per 100 cars. Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk


Water level sensor kit available for the MGF and TF for £89.99 from MG Specialists such as Brown and Gammons (01462 490049) www.ukmgparts.com may also fit Freelander.

EXCEPT FOR TD4 NOT RECOMMENDED. ESPECIALLY AVOID EARLY 1.8s.

Now reports of failures of Jatco 'Steptronic' autoboxes after 45k miles and 3 years. Spares and knoweledge of the box hard to find in UK so usually means a new box at 4.5k.



Following MG Rover's demise, may be problems over the supply of K series 1.8 and 2.5V6 petrol engines.


Further explanation for K Series head gasket failures in Freelanders, with thanks to Robert Ambler:-

In a Freelander the transmission incorporates an Intermediate
Reduction Drive unit which provides the 4WD capability. The
lubricant in this gets very hot and so is passed through a heat
exchanger connected to the engine cooling system. This is fed by
comparatively small bore coolant piping and is located lower and
further back than the rest of the cooling system. If the engine
coolant is drained for any reason (and of course the service advice
for the all aluminium K series engines recommends draining and
flushing the cooling system at least every 24,000 miles I believe)
air locks can develop in this heat exchanger. This causes the engine
(and the transmission) to overheat causing head gasket failure and
probably other damage. The heat exchanger has separate bleed points
to prevent air locks but these are apparently fiddly to get at (and
not obvious from an under bonnet inspection) and thus this service
item often does not get done.


Explanation of Freelander drivetrain problems and also an excellent service reconditioning Freelander JATCO automatic transmissions at www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk
What to Watch Out For
Signs of severe usage. Tow hooks (what's it been towing? Neither the 1.8 nor the diesel is really powerful enough). Underside damage. Drivetrain leaks. Make sure everything works, especially the 'hill descent control', if fitted. Main problem area is drivetrain: gearbox, transfer box and rear diff. Reports of accelerator of 1.8 petrol models sticking and leading to accidents. Quite common for 1.8 to lose its coolant through inlet manifold gasket failure and small coolant capacity of engine leads to severe overheating. Reports of gearbox failures. Check clutch operation carefully as off road driving can lead them to fail in as little as 20,000 miles due to lack of a low range first gear. Severe shortage of spare parts for accident repairs in late 2002 to early 2003 led to many Freelanders off the road for months. AVOID EARLY 1.8s. Care needed not to overfill TD4 with engine lube oil. On TD4s over 100,000 miles injectors of the BMW engines are are prone to seizing into heads.

More tips about KV6 engine in Rover 75 entry.

JATCO advises owners not to carry out AUTOMATIC transmission fluid changes hemselves because it's difficult to ensure the correct amount is added (the gearbox needs to be run to a specific temperature - This requires diagnostic equipment) and probably they will use the wrong oil, e.g. Land Rover Discovery ATF is different from a Land Rover Freelander, and Jaguar X-Type (Jatco) uses different ATF to a Land Rover Freelander (Jatco).
Recalls
TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) over some part-time four-wheel-drive clutch systems failing due to fluid leaks and replaced 'in service' by Land Rover dealers. Official November 1998 recall (build dates June '97-June '98) to check welding on joints of rear suspension arms. 1999: official note to owners to reduce tyre pressures from 2.1 bar to 1.8 bar when not fully loaded, to increase tyre life. 22/10/2001: 68,838 Freelanders from 1/10/1997 launch to 28/2/2001 recalled to check and replace parking brake ratchet if necessary. Further 12,286 built 1/8/2000 to 30/11/2000 recalled because wiring harness can chafe against fuse box putting out headlights, engine management, cooling fans, fuel pump, ignition circuit, a/c, abs and hdc. Further 4,391 3-door Freelanders built 1/8/2000 to 31/2/2002 recalled to check latches of folding front seats and replace as necessary. Feb/March 2002: Apparent recal of TD4 Steptronic automatics to correct fuel lifter pump/fuel pump relay fault. 5-11-2002 22,343 Freelanders from VIN 1A 576764 to 2A 397466 because pin 5 of diagnostic socket not fitted with ground. Pin to be fitted to position 5 and wired to earth. Late 2004: apparent recall of Freelanders fitted with a faulty batch of Pirelli Scorpion tyres.

Hilux Surf

Good looking non UK market 4-door utility SUV 4 independently imported in quite big numbers. 3 litre turbo diesel or 3 litre V6 petrol. 3.0 litre from about 1995 on seems to be best engine. All version a manual or auto. All imported Hilux Surfs equipped with aircon as standard.
Very reliable as long as serviced properly with particular attention to cooling system. Hilux Surfs have massive UK fanbase, and one of the best forums to ask further questions is www.yotasurf.co.uk/forums

.....need I say more!

[TonyN]

.....need I say more!

Nice one Nev, all true, the last Freelander I did the rear diff and the viscous coupling on as they were toast, My mate had brought it 'thinking it need rear bearings doing'

Its now just come back from LandRover after £4000 bill for replacing the engine after it ran out of coolant (for issues you listed above) and completely wreaked the block and head.



Makes the 2.4 head thing seem cheap!

[stevo]

landy block

Give us a shout Tony if you get another Freelander with block problems, i've got a solution to the cylinder liner sinking problem, a lot more cost effective than fiting a new Landrover engine
Cheers, Steve.

[Gazbo]

Cheers lads, i think its a visc and a diff prob. Lucky its not mine. i'm the the unlucky one fixing the heap. As soon as he told me he bought it i burst out laughing. A week later he rings me with this prob. It was a private sale as well poor sod

[TonyN]

Give us a shout Tony if you get another Freelander with block problems, i've got a solution to the cylinder liner sinking problem, a lot more cost effective than fiting a new Landrover engine
Cheers, Steve.

OK, thats cool. To be honest I try and avoid them as a rule!

[plumb bob]

Annoying whine??

Have you checked the rear seats for a mother-in-law?? he he !